We know from experience that adolescence is a transitional period between childhood and adulthood but it is also scientifically a time when the brain is undergoing a final phase of development.

The science of the teenage brain helps us understand why adolescents tend to wake later in the morning and engage in experimental behaviour. It also gives us insights into the effects of alcohol consumption on the teenage brain.

Listen to the full lesson after 5.15pm on Drive with Richard Glover.

You can also subscribe to the free podcast by searching for Self Improvement Wednesday in your podcast store or by copying this address into your podcast software: http://abc.net.au/sydney/features/selfimprovement/selfimprovement.xml

Next week: The theory and application of island biogeography with Professor Richard Kingsford from the University of NSW.